Cabinet Decisions

DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE CABINET OF MINISTERS AT ITS MEETING HELD ON 13-06-2017

01.Construction of a three storied building for Defence Services Viru Daru Vidu Piyasa, Kurunegala (Document No – 07)

A three storied building has been constructed with Rs. 215 million allocated to Ministry of Education with the labour of Sri Lanka Navy and vested in students last March. However, due to absence of common facilities such as laboratories, libraries, auditoriums, and computer labs, the proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Defence, to build a three storied building with above facilities for the benefit of the students of the above institution, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

02.Ratification of Minamata Convention on Mercury (Document No – 08)

The above convention was signed by 128 countries and 53 countries have ratified it. Considering the importance of ratifying this convention in Sri Lanka for addressing global environment related issues, the proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment, to ratify above convention, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

03.Taking steps on reducing use of Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) for protecting Ozone layer (Document No – 09)

Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol were adopted respectively in 1985 and 1987 on the above purpose and its final amendment was done on 15 October 2016 at Kigali, Rwanda to reduce use of HFC in stages. Accordingly, the proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment, to appoint a committee to take necessary action for ratifying this amendment and to ratify the same with immediate effect, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

04.Empowerment of Community based organizations registered under the Department of National Community Water Supply and regularising the regulation mechanism (Document No – 11)

About 90% of Sri Lankan population have access to pure drinking water and 11% out of them get water from community water supply projects. Considering the government's interference in regulating these projects the above department was formed in 2014. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply, to register engaged community based organizations, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers and the minister has mentioned that an awareness programme for these organizations is scheduled to be held from 20 to 23 June 2017.

05.Establishment of Sri Lanka Environmental Wellness Ayurveda Village and Research Centre (Document No – 14)

The proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Rajitha Senarathne, Minister of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, to commence a Public-private partnership project for establishment of the above village and research centre in Meddewaththa area of Mathugama Divisional Secretary's Division in Kalutara District for developing the Ayurvedic medicine in national and international standards, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

06.Incorporation of the Institute of Real Estate and Valuation (Document No – 16)

Above institute was established in 2001 and was registered under the Companies Act. The proposal made by Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, to incorporate this institute under a parliamentary act for developing its productivity, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

07.Lease out a land of 2 acres, 0 roods, and 11 perches at Muthurajawela to Dart Global Logistics (Document No – 17)

An area of about 400 acres has been developed by Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation and given for various projects. Three land lots have been already provided for supply projects and applications have been called for providing 02 more lands.

Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, to lease out the above land lot for 30 years to the said company which had presented the highest value, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

08.Lease out a land at Welipatanwila Fisheries Harbour to construct a Shipyard (Document No – 18)

An agreement has been signed with Building a Future Foundation to provide a land of 01 acre and 6.4 perches on the above purpose at Beruwala Fisheries Harbour but it hasn’t still been provided due to objections of fisheries community.

Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, to lease out a recognized optional land of 01 acre called Muththalagahakanda at Ussangoda near Welipatanwila Fisheries Harbour in Ambalanthota Divisional Secretary's Division, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

09.Disposal of waste in Nuwara Eliya District (Document No – 19)

Absence of a proper method to dispose waste in Nuwara Eliya District causes various health issues and impacts on its beauty. Two Plantation Companies agreed to provide lands to dispose these waste and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Navin Dissanayake, Minister of Plantation Industries, to commence two waste disposal projects in this regard, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

10.Construction of a new two storied laboratory building for Coconut Research Institute (Document No – 20)

The proposal made by Hon. Navin Dissanayake, Minister of Plantation Industries, to construct the above building at a cost of Rs. 47 million and to bear Rs. 23 million out of that by the consolidated fund and the rest by the earnings of CRI, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

11.Hold annual meeting of International Rubber Study Group in 2018 in Sri Lanka (Document No – 21)

Above group established in 1944 consists of 36 member countries including Sri Lanka and 120 industrial members. The proposal made by Hon. Navin Dissanayake, Minister of Plantation Industries, to hold the above event in Sri Lanka in 2018, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The proposal made by Hon. Wijayadasa Rajapaksa, Minister of Justice, to sing the above MoU and to ratify the same for empowering the related laws of two countries, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

13.Providing pure drinking water for modal and reawakened villages in areas affected by Chronic Kidney Disease (Document No – 30)

Above projects implemented in some areas are affected by the shortage of drinking water and therefore, the proposal made by Hon. Sajith Premadasa, Minister of Housing and Construction, to provide drinking water for these projects implemented in 11 districts affected by CKD with coordination of National Water Supply and Drainage Board and Department of National Community Water Supply, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

14.Access to lands for housing and human settlement development (Document No – 31)

Various limitations in using paddy cultivating lands for other purposes has impacted on human settlement in highly urbanization areas, hence use of uncultivated paddy fields has become an essential need. According to a proposal made by Hon. Sajith Premadasa, Minister of Housing and Construction, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to appoint a committee comprised of relevant officials in Ministries and other public institutes to make a method for utilization of such lands without impacting on environment.

Among 18 projects to be implemented in 2016-2018, 10 projects have been identified with a cost exceeding Rs. 20 million to be implemented in 2017 and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Harin Fernando, Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, to implement these projects within this year, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

16.Development of Nursing Training Schools (Document No – 40)

Construction of administrative and academic buildings in 14 training schools has to be done immediately and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Rajitha Senarathne, Minister of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, to commence above constructions of training schools in Galle, Kandy and Anuradhapura using allocations of Rs. 200 million of year 2017, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

17.Construction of a MOH office in Wadugoda, Payagala (Document No – 41)

The proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Rajitha Senarathne, Minister of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, to construct an office of Medical Officer of Health in Wadugoda, Payagala considering the population of the area for addressing health related issues, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of National Integration and Reconciliation, to setup district level committees appointing District Secretary as the convener and in line with this to establish a national level reconciliation committee for resolving ethnic and religious issues, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

19.Scholarships from the Government of Japan for HR development (Document No – 49)

The Government of Japan, introduced above programme in 2010 for offering the opportunity for Executive Officers in the public sector to follow postgraduate courses in reputed universities in Japan. The programme was to be expired this year but Japan has agreed to extend it for further four years. The proposal made by Hon. Niroshan Perera, Acting Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to sign exchange notes with the Government of Japan and to sign an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency for obtaining a grant of approximately Rs. 358 million in this regard, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

20.Providing a monthly house rent allowance for persons affected by recent disaster (Document No – 52)

Due to recent disaster situation many houses have been damaged and some families were evacuated from their houses which were in high risk areas. They are temporarily provided accommodation in relief camps and the proposal made by Hon. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Disaster Management, to provide these families a monthly house rent allowance of Rs. 7500/- for enabling them to settle in houses on rent basis temporarily for the months of June, July and August, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

21.Strengthening of National Disaster Relief Centre (Document No – 53)

The disaster relief mechanism in district and divisional level has to be strengthened and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Disaster Management, to fill vacancies in the NDRC with immediate effect, attach a Disaster Relief Officer to each Divisional Secretary's Division, and to create new posts for essential duties, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

22.Annual Report of the Ministry of Finance - 2016 (Document No – 55)

The above annual report should be issued to the parliament and public at the end of each financial year under the article 13 of Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act No. 3 of 2003, and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Finance and Mass Media, to present the said report related to the financial year 2016, which is comprised of 13 chapters and the respective report of the Auditor General in the parliament, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.